


Monster Of The Week

by NavajoLovesDestiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Case Fic, Castiel (Supernatural)'s Loss of Grace, Happy Ending, M/M, Monster of the Week, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 22:54:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19859356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NavajoLovesDestiel/pseuds/NavajoLovesDestiel
Summary: It takes Castiel nearly dying to make Dean come to terms with his feelings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zaffre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaffre/gifts).



> This is a story written for the FicFacer$ Charity Event.   
> The Qalupalik is a human-like creature that lives in the sea, with long hair, green skin, and long fingernails.

“Look. Rowena’s gonna come and take care of you, Cas and I are going to Oregon to hunt that monster of the week, end of story!” Dean took a swig of his beer and watched Sam frown.

“Dean, I don’t need Rowena…”

Dean shook his head. “Sam, you need someone to help out. It’s your own damn fault you broke your leg, so stop. Quit being a bitch.”

Sam sighed deeply. He knew he couldn’t go along, he knew he needed help, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Dean tipped back the beer and finished it. He put it on Sam’s nightstand and stood up. 

“Okay! Good talk. I’m gonna go pack and find Cas. We’ll leave as soon as Rowena gets here.” 

He walked to the door, then turned. “And keep your phone on in case we need some research done.”

Sam sighed again, and idly scratched his leg above the cast.

Cas had just put his bag down on the map table when the door opened and Rowena came in. Dean walked out of the kitchen.

“Hello boys. Your Florence Nightingale is here.”

Dean chuckled. “Sam’s in his room, sulking. Thanks for coming, Rowena.”

Rowena walked down the stairs and up to Cas. “Hello sweetie.”

Cas nodded. “Rowena.”

Dean clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re burning daylight. Let’s go.”

Cas smiled at him, turned to Rowena and said, “Good bye. I hope Sam isn’t too much of a problem.”

Rowena laughed. “He won’t be. Be careful, you two.”

Cas followed Dean to the car. He started to get in the front.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? You sit in the back.”

Cas tilted his head. “But Sam is not here… I thought…”

Dean laughed. “I’m just yanking your chain. Get in.”

Cas sighed and got in. 

Cas looked at the reference papers Sam had put together for them. Dean was blasting    
Led Zeppelin and singing along. Cas leaned over and turned down the volume.

“Dean, how long will it take to get there?”

Dean glanced at him and back at the road. “Close to thirty hours. I figure we can stop for the night somewhere in Wyoming or Idaho.”

Cas looked at maps on his phone. “Probably Evanston Wyoming would be our best bet. There’s a Prairie Inn that looks like it would be adequate.”

“Sounds good to me. So, Sam thinks it’s a qalupalik. I never heard of one before.”

Cas shook his head. “Neither have I. But it seems to fit the eyewitness accounts.”

Dean sighed. “Wish we knew how to kill it.”

Cas looked at him. “I guess we’ll just have to figure that out.”

They stopped for gas and Dean grabbed some road food. Cas looked in the bag with a frown.

“You’re lucky you haven’t had a heart attack, eating this stuff. And if you did, I couldn’t do anything…”

Cas trailed off. He’d lost the ability to heal when his grace began to drain. He’d considered going back to heaven when he found out that there were just a handful of angels left, but he couldn’t leave Dean. His reasons were his own, and he kept a tight rein on them, but the fact was, he couldn’t leave Dean no matter what.

Dean grabbed a bag of skittles out of the bag, opened them with his teeth and poured some in his mouth. 

“Look, Cas, I know you feel bad about not being able to heal Sam’s leg, but it was his own fault. And we both understand that your grace is about gone. Forget about it.”

Cas nodded, but didn’t say anything.

They pulled into the Prairie Inn a little after seven that evening. Dean went and got them a room, and after he and Cas had carried their bags in and threw them on the beds, Dean suggested getting dinner. Cas looked on his phone and found a place called Jody’s Diner. They looked over the menu and then Dean called for take out. He got a ribeye steak and Cas chose the chicken fried steak, even though he probably wouldn’t eat it.

Dean left to pick up the food, so Cas took a quick shower. He was just coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist when Dean walked in. Dean looked at him, then put the bags of food down and went into the bathroom.

Cas pulled on sweats and a t shirt. He got out the food and sat on the bed with a sigh.

Dean walked in with the food, and saw Cas wearing just a towel, his hair wet. He had to get out of the room, so he went into the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face, and stood there, willing his half-hard dick to relax.

He knew he was in trouble the second Sam had broken his leg. He was going to have to go on hunts alone with Cas. 

He’d been in love with Cas for as long as he could remember. Probably since the barn. He’d had feelings and they only got deeper, more intense. Every time Cas had fucked up, every time he disappeared, Dean told himself to just forget it, let his feelings go. 

But then Cas would return, try to make up for whatever he’d done, and Dean was just as much in love with him as ever. There was no future to it, Cas was a frigging  _ angel _ . Even as his grace drained away, it didn’t change the fact that Cas was not human. Cas was a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent, for fuck’s sake. Far too good for any human, let alone someone as damaged as Dean. 

His dick was soft again, so he took a deep breath and walked back into the room. Cas was sitting on the bed, staring at his food. Dean walked to the table, sat and started eating.

“So, we need to get some sleep. Gotta get on the road early.”

Cas nodded. He picked at his food, then got up and put it on the table. He walked back to the bed and laid down.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Dean. Sleep well.”

Cas turned over, his back to Dean. Dean sighed and ate his steak. When he was done, he went and took a long shower and went to sleep.

The next morning, they got some breakfast at Jody’s and started towards Oregon. Cas was quiet, so Dean turned on some music and sang along. He knew Cas was bothered by his fading grace. He was relieved when Cas chose them over heaven, but he knew it was hard for Cas. Cas always wanted to fix everything, and when he found out heaven was losing power, his first thought was to try and help.

But when he thought it through, the only way he could do any good in heaven was to permanently stay there. And he chose Sam and Dean, a fact that Dean was going to be eternally grateful for.

He couldn’t live with the thought of never seeing Cas again.

He turned his thoughts to the monster that was killing people in Oregon.


	2. Chapter 2

Cas laid in bed listening to Dean’s even breathing and occasional soft snore. He needed some sleep these days, but found it very hard to accomplish. So he listened to Dean sleep and thought.

Cas couldn’t have gone to heaven permanently because he couldn’t bear to leave Dean. His beautiful, broken and righteous Dean. He’d been in love with Dean since he first saw his soul shining in hell, but it took him several years to realize what he was feeling was love. Balthazar had attempted to explain it to him, but strangely, it was Crowley that made him realize it.

Since then, he’d done his best to hide his feelings. He knew Dean was attracted to women, and he had sadly chosen a male body to inhabit. He was comfortable with this body, and it was all his, but if he had it to do again knowing everything he knew now, he would have chosen a female body.

He managed to drift off a couple of hours before Dean was shaking him.

“Come on, sunshine, time to get up.”

They grabbed some breakfast and then went to the sheriff’s office. Dean looked so handsome in his FBI suit. Cas remembered to hold his credentials right side up. 

The Sheriff was a portly fellow named Brooks. He told them that he didn’t have a clue what was going on. There were three people missing, and the one body that washed up a mile down the beach was partially eaten.

“Twernt no shark neither. Them bite marks were huge. That guy was bitten clean in half. The doc still isn’t sure if his innards got eaten or if they just washed away.”

Dean asked how long he’d been in the water.

“That’s another weird part. Twernt more than a couple of hours after his buddy saw him heading to the beach that his body washed up.”

Dean thanked him and they left. In the car, Dean said he thought they should talk to the dead guy’s buddy and Cas agreed.

It turned out that they weren’t just buddies, they were lovers. Dean looked a little shocked when he heard that, and Cas sighed. The guy cried so it was tough to understand what he was telling them and Cas felt really bad for him. But it turned out the guy didn’t have anything helpful concerning what happened, other than that the attack happened at dusk.

Back in the car, Cas looked up when the other people went missing.

“They all disappeared around dusk, Dean.”

Dean sighed. “Okay, I suggest we get lunch, change out of these monkey suits and go to the beach.”

They grabbed some burgers and fries and headed back to the motel. Dean went to the bathroom and changed out of his suit. Cas was wearing his suit and trench coat so he didn’t think he would have to do anything. When Dean came out, he looked at Cas.

“You don’t want to go to the beach wearing that get up, Cas. Change into something more comfortable.”

Cas looked down at himself. “I am perfectly comfortable in this, Dean.”

Dean chuckled and sat down. “Dude, you’re going to stick out like a sort thumb in a suit at the beach. Just put on some jeans and a t shirt, maybe a flannel. Please?”

Cas sighed dramatically but opened up his bag and got out jeans and a henley, with a flannel to go over it. He went to the bathroom and changed. When he walked out and stood for Dean’s perusal, Dean’s eyes got big for a moment and his cheeks flushed. He cleared his throat.

“That’s more like it. Now, eat.”

They each had a beer and ate. Cas cleaned up the mess and then they went to the car. Dean stared at Cas for a moment.

“Is something wrong with my appearance, Dean?”

Dean shook his head. “What? No. I was just thinking…”

He started the car and drove to the beach.

Dean found a place to park where they had a clear view of the beach where all the victims had disappeared from. They settled in and waited for the sun to begin to sink.

There were a few thin clouds in the sky that lit up in a symphony of pastels. Cas looked at the sky. He watched the sun set into the ocean.

Dean was watching the beach.

It was just getting dark when he saw the shadow. It seemed to just rise up out of the water, but Dean couldn’t make out what it was or what it even really looked like. He nudged Cas and pointed.

Then they both saw the person jogging along the beach.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean was out of the car like a shot, but Cas was quicker. He ran to the woman and grabbed her. She screamed, Dean ran to them and pulled Cas away. He started to tell the woman what was going on.

But then Cas was gone. Dean turned around frantically and looked for any sign of him or the monster. They were both just gone.

Dean started to yell Cas’ name, running along the beach. He was waving his gun around, just looking for anything to shoot at.

He fell to his knees in the sand. “Cas… Cas please... “

The only response was the sound of the waves. 

  
  


Cas woke up in a dark place. He struggled to remember what happened, where he was. Where ever he was smelled terrible. He sat up with his head pounding. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness until he could make out shapes.

The monster was sitting on its haunches across the room, looking at him.

Cas was surprised he was alive. Why hadn’t the qalupalik eaten him? He got to his feet. The monster didn’t move or make a sound. He walked towards the creature, hands out and palms presented in a show of peace. The monster just sat there, looking sad.

As Cas got closer, he was drawn to put his hands on the creature’s head. He did so, and was overwhelmed with images. 

He saw the beginning, how the creature was born to parents who loved him, how he grew in the safe space they made for him under the ocean. Cas witnessed the creature meeting a female of his species, how they mated, that she had a baby.

Then he saw the creature’s mate and child murdered by hunters. How the creature wailed and cried out over their bodies. Cas felt the loneliness, the complete misery that the creature lived in now. How he killed out of revenge.

He witnessed how the creature had recognized Cas’ grace, even though it was only slight. The creature grabbed him in the hope that Cas could understand what the creature wanted, what he needed from Cas.

He wanted Cas to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean sat on the beach all night. He cried, he screamed, he cried more. He was waiting for Cas’ body to wash up on the beach. He sat in the same spot where the first body had washed up, and waited.

He wanted to die. He couldn’t believe he’d lost Cas again, and this time, it was probably the last time. If his body was eaten, even partially, there was nothing to come back to.

Why hadn’t he ever told Cas how he felt about him? Why was he such a coward? He always thought there’d be time, but more than that, he always was afraid that Cas would reject him and leave. There were a million reasons not to tell Cas that he loved him, there was only one reason to do it.

It was the right thing to do. It was the honest thing to do. And if there was one chance in a billion that Cas felt the same way, he should have taken it.

Now it was too late. Dean didn’t know if he could go on this time. There was too much pain, too much death for him to deal with. Every time Cas had gone off the deep end, every time Cas had died, a little piece of Dean’s heart died. He didn’t think there was enough left to sustain him.

He sat and turned the gun over and over in his hand, and waited.

Cas struggled to break the surface of the water. His lungs were screaming and he wasn’t sure he was going to make it when his head broke the surface and he took a huge gulp of air. His clothes were heavy with water and they threatened to drag him back down. He kicked his feet and began to swim.

He couldn’t see the beach, and had to guess which way to swim. He prayed to a god he knew wasn’t listening that he was going in the right direction.

His arms were so heavy and his clothes were dragging him down. His head went under, once, twice…

Dean looked out at the waves. His vision was blurred by tears, but he thought he saw something in the water. He got up and shielded his eyes with his hand.

There was just a glimpse of dark hair in the water. Dean ran out into the waves, diving in and swimming to the place where he saw what possibly was Cas. When he got to him, Cas looked dead. Dean swallowed a sob and grabbed him. At least his body was whole.

Dean pulled Cas back to shore and heaved them both up on the sand. He rolled Cas over, wiped some sand off his face and began to compress his chest.

Dean pressed Cas’ chest, saying, “Come on, angel, don’t you die on me! Please, Cas. breathe. Please baby, take a breath…”

Cas began to cough. Water spewed out of his mouth, and Dean turned Cas’ head to the side so he didn’t choke. Cas vomited up sea water.

Dean pulled Cas to him in a tight hug. “Oh my god, Cas, I thought you were dead. I was so scared. I love you, Cas. I love you so much. Please be okay.”

Cas could breath. He was alive. Dean was holding him, he was in Dean’s arms. He was alive.

He heard Dean tell him that he loved him. He wondered if he was confused, if his brain was somehow injured. He pulled away from Dean weakly.

“Dean, what did you say?”

Dean looked down at him with red eyes. “I told you I loved you, angel. I love you. You don’t have to love me back but…”

Cas smiled. “Shut up Dean.”

Dean blinked and closed his mouth.

“I love you too. I have for years. But there’s something important I need to tell you.”

Dean was torn between happiness at Cas loving him back, and worry at what Cas was going to say..

“Dean, my grace… it’s gone. I’m human. I used it up, on the qalupalik.”

Dean sat back, still holding Cas. “Okay. It’s okay. I’m really happy you killed it Cas. I mean, you must have if you’re alive. But…”

Cas sighed. “It asked me to kill it. It was sad, and alone. It’s mate was killed. It took all my grace to give it a gentle death.”

Dean listened. He thought about Cas giving a monster a gentle death because it wanted to die. It was too surreal to grasp right then.

“You can tell me all about it when we get back to the motel. Right now, you’re wet and cold and I need to take care of you. And hey, we need to talk about the love thing too.”

Cas chuckled. “Talk about the  _ ‘love’ thing _ ? Right. Help me up.”

Back in their room, Cas took a hot shower and Dean ordered some pizza to be delivered. He went out and got some beer and was back just as Cas came out of the bathroom. 

Dean’s eyes took in the sight of Cas, naked with just a towel around his waist. This time, he let himself appreciate the whole package. Cas’ chest, the freckle above his right nipple, the sharp v of his hipbones, the light dusting of hair leading down under the towel.

He put the beer down. Cas blushed and took some boxers out of his bag and pulled them on under the towel, then let the towel drop.

There was a knock on the door and Dean opened it and paid for the pizza. He put the box on the table next to the beer, and walked to where Cas sat on the bed.

He sat down next to Cas, took a deep breath, and leaned forward to kiss Cas. Cas didn’t respond for the briefest of moments and then he was kissing Dean back. Dean just let all his anxiety go, he cleared his mind and kissed Cas. It was better than he ever imagined, and he had imagined this a lot over the years.

Cas grabbed Dean by the back of his neck and held on as if he felt like he might float away if he didn’t. It was amazing and frightening and wonderful and scary, all at the same time. Cas had thought about this many times over the years, but he never thought it would happen. Suddenly his insecurity overcame his desire and he pulled away.

“Dean, what are you doing? You can’t love me.”

Dean looked hurt, and Cas felt a little guilt at that, but he just couldn’t let his fear go.

“I do love you, Cas. I have for years. I just couldn’t tell you. I was scared, I guess. But I want you, I want us to be together. Don’t you want that?”

Cas thought about what Dean was saying. Maybe Dean could love him… 

“Dean, I love you. I’m in love with you and I have been forever. But you’ve never shown any interest in men in general, let alone in me that way. I just can’t take it if this is just a reaction to me disappearing. If you take it back, if you change your mind, I’ll have to leave, go back to heaven forever.”

Dean took Cas’ face in his hands. “Cas, listen to me. I’ve… I’ve been with a man before. It was a long time ago, but I’ve always been attracted to men. I just didn’t feel like I could show it. My dad... “

Cas nodded. ‘I understand that your father wouldn’t like having a son who was with a man.”

Dean let his hands drop and sighed. “He caught me once, when I was in high school. I was kissing a boy, a friend. He beat the crap out of me.”

Cas took one of Dean’s hands and kissed it. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Dean looked down at his hand. “It was a long time ago, and my dad is dead. I want to forget that. I want to be with you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Cas kissed Dean. It was light at first, barely a feather touch to his lips. But Dean deepened it. Dean ran his tongue along Cas’ lips and Cas opened them for it. 

Cas had kissed before, of course. He’d kissed the reaper who killed him, he’d kissed Daphne, his wife when he’d lost his memory and called himself Emmanuel. He’d kissed Meg, with all her thorny beauty. But this? This was more than a kiss, it was eternity, it was perfection and love and arousal and more he couldn’t wrap his mind around.

He realized he needed to feel Dean’s skin. He pulled at Dean’s shirt and Dean sat up to help him. It was thrown aside, and Cas went to Dean’s jeans. They flew somewhere, along with Dean’s boots and socks.

Cas’ dick had slipped through the slit in his boxers and he looked down at it. It was so hard it hurt, and there was wetness at the tip. He felt need… it was confusing and excruciating. He pulled his boxers off, hissing at the slap of his dick against his belly.

He grabbed Dean’s boxers and drug them down. Cas looked at Dean’s hard cock, and it was beautiful. It was perfect. He leaned over and kissed the tip, listening to Dean gasp. 

Dean said, “In my bag… lube…” and Cas struggled to make sense of the words, Dean gestured towards his bag on the floor and Cas grasped what Dean meant. 

He got up and rummaged in the bag until he came up with the bottle. He walked back to where Dean was laying and paused, taking in the sight.

“You’re beautiful.”

Dean blushed. “Shut up and get over here.”

Cas straddled Dean’s hips and poured the gel into his hand. He reached down and grabbed Dean’s cock, spreading the lube over it and listening to the sweet sounds Dean made as he did. Dean thrust up and his cock touched Cas’ and Cas was lit up from within. He heard his voice moan from far away.

He grabbed his own cock and put it against Dean’s. The feeling was so intense he thought he couldn’t stand it but still… he wrapped his hand around both of them and began to move it up and down, thumb running over the heads and then back down and back up and his moans mingled with Dean’s and it was all just too good.

Dean groaned out that he was going to come along with saying Cas’ name over and over as if in prayer. Cas looked down to watch the white cum pour out of Dean’s dick, coating his hand and spraying over Dean’s belly. 

He felt his balls tighten and then he was coming too. 

When he caught his breath, he looked at Dean looking at him and they smiled at the same time.

“I should get a rag, clean us up.”

Dean leaned over and kissed him lightly. “I’ll do it.”

When they were clean, Dean brought over the cold pizza and the warm beer. They sat together, naked on the bed and ate. There was nothing to say.

Before they went to sleep, Dean called Sam and told him they weren’t coming back for a couple of days. He didn’t say why.

They spent the next day in bed together, learning each other’s bodies. They told each other of their love. It was good, it felt right. 

When they finally went home, Cas felt for the first time that it truly was home. His home with Dean. He was human and they had the rest of their lives to be together. It didn’t matter if that was a day, a year or eternity. They were together. 

And that was perfect. 


End file.
